Just for Support
by nij2401
Summary: A series of one-shots about random supporting characters. Rated T to be safe. You can request some via review or PM. Can those who read please review? I don't mind what you say as long as it's civil constructive criticism.
1. Sisters

Narcissa was wondering. The war had ended, so would it be worth to see her? They'd been estranged for so many years, had children, in her case a grandson, of their own. Would she accept her?

She was two years younger than Andromeda when she left. She was about to finish her schooling when she married the- should she use the word? - Muggle-born. And that was that. Blasted off the tapestry, shunned by the family, never seen again. And then three years later, her cousin Sirius had gone off too. She was too late to make amends to Sirius but with Andromeda…

Her family always thought it would be her that went off. Blonde hair instead of dark, named after a flower instead of a star or constellation… so many signs. Instead, they forgot to watch out for Andromeda and then she was gone.

Was she able to think these thoughts? Was it against her family? But the memories flooded back like a river rushing at full speed.

* * *

"Andie! Andie! Catch me!"

Five year old Cissy was on a tree. Eight year old Bella was playing with her toy broomstick whilst Dromeda was trying to catch Cissy as she jumped. As normal, she soared gracefully through the air, landing safely in Dromeda's arms. The game resulted in squeals and giggles from the two younger Black girls.

"Stop playing Mudblood games! The best games are the ones with magic." Bella said haughtily.

"Cissy isn't old enough yet. Besides, she enjoys this!" Dromeda protested.

Bella, with no retort, tossed her head arrogantly and walked off. Cissy, not realising that this would soon turn into something more serious, climbed the tree again.

* * *

Narcissa came back to the present with a jolt. She wondered whether it would enrage her dead sister's spirit. She was torn between her family and her instinct. So many times this had happened and so many times she was more allegiant to her family. Would it hurt anyone to trust her heart this time? They'd already betrayed the Dark Lord, it's not like they cared…

She gulped, and decided against it. She had played this charade of "pure-blood allegiance" for years, so why, in the midst of the end of the war, should she end it now?


	2. Fond of Her

She was fond of her. Of course, she would rather that she married Bill than Fleur did, but life was life. She always knew that Dora would go her own way.

Molly felt proud when Dora and Remus got married. After all, she was the one that helped Dora cope with Remus's rejection. They had always been good friends, especially since she had started giving Dora "tea and sympathy". Molly didn't even realise that she was the same age as Charlie. She was very mature for her age. Too mature for her age.

Molly felt angry when Remus left her. She often went over there, just to see how she was doing. She was hurt to see how alone she was and how Dromeda tried to console her. She wondered how on earth Remus could leave her alone when she had a child on the way and if it even mattered if it was like him.

Molly rejoiced when Dora had Teddy. She saw a picture when Dromeda came to visit them. Molly smiled when she saw that the boy's hair changed from aqua blue to deep purple. There were no signs of lycanthropy. She learned that Harry was godfather, and sighed. Her youngest son and his two friends were nowhere to be seen. Still.

Molly's heart sank when she saw Dora and Remus lying side by side, next to her son. All three. Dead. Never to be seen again. She started sobbing ferociously. She couldn't kill Dolohov but Bellatrix…

Molly's heart lifted a little when she cast the spell that stopped Bellatrix's heart. She felt that she was avenging a lot of people: Remus, Dora, Fred, Frank and Alice…

After the war, the Weasleys, Harry and Hermione visited Dromeda and Teddy. They all cooed and fussed over the baby, whose hair was now red. Molly looked into Teddy's face and silently promised she would try to be like a grandma to him. She would never be like Dromeda, but she tried because...

At the end of the day she was fond of her. She was fond of all of them. But they were never coming back.


	3. Lies

Andromeda's entire life had been lies, from the trivial ones to the ones that changed her life.

* * *

_27th August 1961_

Ever since she was a little girl, she had been told that Mudbloods were scum and mingling with them was equivalent to building your own funeral pyre. However, at 9 years old, she had a closer look at the family tapestry.

"Mummy, what are those weird burn marks? Why are they there?"

"They are none of your business Andromeda! Now go and play with Bellatrix."

Only then did she start to wonder about whether her family were hiding something from her.

* * *

_1st September 1963_

She went to Hogwarts at age eleven. Her Sorting was rather complicated. She had been hoping to get into Slytherin, because she wanted to be with her family.

"Slytherin, eh?" the Sorting Hat said, "are you sure?"

"Why are you asking?" Andromeda thought. "Don't I fit in there? It's where all my family are, so don't I fit?"

"Of course you should! So I think, SLYTHERIN!" The last word was boomed to the Hall. The Slytherins at the table started cheering.

Andromeda stumbled to the table, wondering about why the Sorting Hat had said "Of course you should" instead of "Of course you do".

* * *

_22nd April 1964_

Andromeda's first friend, her best friend, promised to never ever break friends. It was one of those childish eleven year old promises, but she kept it extremely well until second year. Andromeda was wondering about Muggle Studies for her third year classes (as the form was coming out soon). The burn marks on her tapestry concerned her. She decided to take it and not tell her family. She asked her teachers to honour her secret. However, her best friend saw her filling out the form. Thankfully, she didn't tell anyone but started to "spend more time" with someone else "just for fun".

She didn't talk to her again.

* * *

_19th May 1965_

Andromeda got her first boyfriend in fourth year. She felt they were great together. She enjoyed their every kiss. She hadn't told him about Muggle Studies- who would? She would lose all his respect and love. Whenever he had a free lesson and she had Muggle Studies, she lied about going to Arithmancy. He didn't know her timetable and he didn't do Arithmancy. Now that she thought about it, she also told quite serious lies in her life.

However, one day after her so-called Arithmancy, she realised she had forgotten her Charms homework. She rushed off to get it and searched the common-room. She looked near a tiny, inexplicable alcove when she saw them. Him and her old friend. Kissing. Literally swallowing each other. In the alcove where they had kissed so often. Disgusting.

She found her Charms homework, despite the sounds of kisses and giggles. She turned away, rivers in her eyes, and sped off.

* * *

_October 18th 1967-13th January 1972_

Ted really loved her. He was her first real boyfriend. There was no question of cheating, as he went to all the same classes (even though he was a Muggle-born, he wanted to study them from a wizard's point of view). He was amazing, except for one thing.

He was in Gryffindor.

She had talked to her mother.

"Mother, if I had a boyfriend who had something... wrong but he was the only one, would you support me?"

"Of course I would! No matter what, I would support you. I may not be happy, I may not like him, but I would help you. What do you take me for?"

She was silent. She wondered about all her mother said about Muggles and Muggle-borns and Squibs and half-breeds. She was about to say she took her for a prejudiced woman who sucked up to authority but she didn't want to spoil her mother's good mood.

She went out with Ted until the end of Hogwarts. After Hogwarts, she lived with her parents but still saw him. He proposed, she accepted.

When they got married, her family shunned her. Her face became one of the burn marks on the tapestry she had so often wondered about.

* * *

_4th February 1978_

Five year old Dora ran around the house chasing the family cat. Andromeda sat on the sofa watching her and smiled.

Andromeda couldn't work because she needed to teach Dora. She didn't want to send her to Muggle school because she was a Metamorphmagus and it would risk revealing the truth about wizardry. She sighed as she thought about the trouble her world was going through. She was worried for Ted as he was a Muggle-born. He sent Patronuses whenever he could, but she still worried.

She heard a crash from the dining room.

"It's OK Mummy! Nothing's broken!"

Andromeda investigated and found that Dora had broken her favourite Ming vase. She laughed, swept up the remnants with a flick of her wand. and swooped to pick up Dora. The world was in so much terror that a broken vase was the least of her problems.

Little did she know that in about three years, a one year old boy would start bringing about the downfall of Voldemort.

* * *

_14th March 1998_

"But are you sure it's safe? Going into hiding?"

"Dromeda, I'll be fine. Trust me."

"I don't want Dora's little boy growing up without a grandpa." The longing in her eyes was almost tangible.

"Dromeda. Andie." Andie had been her nickname as a child, used either when someone was speaking endearingly to her or was trying to persuade her to do something. "I wish I could stay. Remus and I had a really long chat about this. But I have no choice. If I stay put, it'll be easier for me to be caught. And you don't want that, do you? Trust me. Someday, this war will end, then I'll be back here and then everything will be tickety-boo. Please." Ted's blue eyes, the same eyes that had swept Andromeda off her feet, bored right into her mind.

"Alright. Bye. See you soon." It would have been as if Ted was going for a brief outing, but for the tears that Andromeda simply could not hold back.

It wasn't a lie as such, but Andromeda felt cheated when she heard the news on _Potterwatch_. Dora and Remus joined her for a night of tears and hugs.

* * *

_2nd May 1998_

"Dora! Where on earth do you think you're going?" she asked as Dora stepped towards the door.

"Out. For some air."

"You're going to see the battle, aren't you?"

"N- alright, fine, I am. I just want to see how Remus is."

"You'll find out! I'm sure he's just fine."

"I don't want my Teddy to live fatherless! Please?"

Andromeda sighed. She had felt the same way about Ted. But what if...

"Alright. But I expect you home in 10 minutes."

"Consider it done." Dora was just about to leave, but turned and gave her mother a fierce hug before Apparating.

Andromeda waited, alone with the sleeping Teddy. Only afterwards did she realise that she would always be alone with Teddy.

* * *

_1st September 2017_

"Grandma! Can I go out?"

Andromeda sped to the living room where Teddy was.

"Why? Where? What time will you be home? Who are you going with?" She always asked Teddy those questions when he said he was going out.

"I'm just going to see off Victoire and Rose and Al and the rest. I'll be with Uncle Harry and you can expect me back at 11:05."

"Alright." Andromeda sighed with relief. At least Harry would know if Teddy was truly there.

"Grandma, why do you keep asking me these questions?"

Andromeda hesitated. She didn't really want her grandson to know.

"Because I love you. Bye now!"

Teddy smiled. His hair changed to red and his eyes changed to green. "Bye!"

Andromeda waited for that familiar _crack._ She didn't want Teddy to know. She'd already lost her husband and daughter because of lies. She didn't want to lose her grandson to one too.


	4. Memories

**Since everything I've done so far is Tonks-family-centric, I'm going to take a different approach.**

Dennis stared at the grave. The grave of his brother. His brother, the one who had helped him repetitively through his time at Hogwarts. He had been genuinely excited when he got in Gryffindor and was thrilled when he fell into the lake and was almost caught by the giant squid. But they were young then. Young and foolish. So foolish they didn't realise what was going on in their world. So foolish that they didn't realise they were risking their lives.

It didn't feel right, staring at the grave of someone who he'd shared his life with, realising he was never coming back. He felt uncomfortable. All of a sudden, he felt angry. At first, his anger was directed towards his brother. Why did he have to leave? His parents were broken shells of themselves, deathly pale, and their voices were hollow. But then he realised he wasn't the one to blame. It was Voldemort. Of course, Voldemort had gone now, and the world was safe. But why did he have to take his brother with him?

He saw a speck coming towards him. It was Harry. Dennis knew him. Colin had introduced them. He had defeated Voldemort. But not soon enough. It was stupid to blame him, so he didn't.

"Hey. Dennis, right?" He asked.

"Yes. You're Harry. My brother spoke very highly of you. he said you were so amazingly brave."

Harry shrugged. He got kind of annoyed when people referred to him as 'brave'.

"Who are you here to see?" Dennis asked.

"Fred Weasley. He was a brother to me." He held up a posy of tulips as red as Fred's hair. "Laying flowers."

Fred's grave was next to Colin's. The two stood there, wondering what to say, what to do.

"It isn't right! It isn't fair! Stuffing our relatives into boxes and shoving them into holes! It isn't enough!"

Harry stared calmly at Dennis. "Of course it isn't, but that isn't the only thing you have to remember him by. Memories. Memories never die. You have your own memories of Colin and I have mine. It's the best thing you have. Use it."

Dennis stared at the gravestone. _In loving memory of Colin Ethan Creevey, loyal son, brilliant brother and trustworthy friend. He is sorely missed._

Dennis decided to move on. He had the memories of his brother and he had a family to help. He smiled briefly at the grave before leaving the graveyard and heading home.


End file.
